Someone sent you a picture and you need to know when it was taken? Can’t remember when something happened and looking for a way to find out the date and time from the photos?
Cameras and smartphones will save the date and time when we take photos, known as the timestamp or datestamp, typically includes information such as the day, month, year, hour, minute, and second. The date and time information of our photos are part of the metadata that describes and gives information about the files and they are usually not displayed on the photos, but stored within the file.
Some iPhone users may not know how to find the time and date of when the photo was taken. We can find the date and time photos were taken in the native Photos app or third-party photo apps, image managers or editors. When you have exported the photos from iPhone to a PC or Mac, you can also view the properties or metadata of them to access this information to see when the photos were taken. In this article, you will learn how to easily find out the time and date of when the photo was taken on your iPhone or iPad without any third-party apps. See how you can get the photo time stamp from both the Files app and the Photos app on iPhone below.
Remember that the specific steps might vary slightly based on your iPhone model and the iOS version you’re using.
Method 1. Find photo time stamp in Photos
Open the Photos app on your iPhone. Navigate to the specific photo for which you want to know the date and time. Tap on the photo to view it in full screen, you can then see the date and time on the top.
You can also tap on the Info icon (i inside a circle) from the bottom toolbar to bring up the file information dialog at the lower section of the screen. You should now see detailed information about the photo, including the date and time it was taken. Here you can also adjust the photo capture date and time. Simply tap on Adjust button to change the time stamp of an existing photo on iPhone. You can even copy the photo creation date and time to clipboard. Long press on the date & time, then choose Copy Date & Time from the popup-up dialog.
Method 2. View photo date & time in Files
Open the Photos app or your Camera Roll on iPhone, find and open the picture, tap on the action menu from the bottom left corner to bring up the menu list at the lower section on your iPhone screen. Scroll down the long menu list until you see Save to Files item. Tap on it, then choose a location or folder on your iPhone to save the image file. For example, you can save it to the Downloads folder.
After that, launch the Files app on iPhone, browse to the above directory which you have saved the picture to. You should see the date of the photo below the picture thumbnail and name.
If you like to view the specific time of the photo as well. Long press on the photo to pop up the action menu and choose Get Info from the menu list. You will then open the detailed information about the selected image file, including file format, size, dimensions, camera, device, date & time, etc.
Here you can find the modified date and time, created date and time of the photo. Scroll down to find out many other detailed information of the photo, such as dimensions, resolution, color profile, device make, device model, lens model, aperture value, exposure time, etc.
Extra tips on photo Metadata
- The date and time information on photos is influenced by the time zone settings on your iPhone.
- The date and time details are embedded as part of it in the metadata of the photo file. And in most cases, the date and time information should be preserved when you are exporting or sharing photos from your iPhone. Some apps or platforms may provide options to display, hide or strip certain details about the photos you share.
- If a photo has been edited or modified, the date and time information may reflect when the editing occurred rather than the original capture time. The metadata may provide information about both the original and modified dates.
- Metadata can contain private information about the device used, the location where the photo was taken, the timestamp or datestamp when the photo was taken, and other details. If you’re concerned about privacy, removing this information before sharing may be a precautionary measure.